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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Hope every one had a good Memorial Day yesterday! I was a little slow in the morning getting ready and ran out of time to make a post before going to work. I was hoping the day would stay nice and slow, but it was not meant to be...

So yesterday I wore Mezzanotte Blue from Borghese. Was toying with the idea of doing something red, white and blue for memorial day, but decided to play it safe for work. Mezzanotte Blue is a blackened navy blue. This is just about the only type of blue that looks good on me (or maybe I'm just not used to wearing other blues...). The bottle color is beautiful, however, the color on the nail comes darker than the bottle color. Indoors it looks black 99% of the time. I applied three thin coats even though it was opaque after two. I added the third one to even things out and topped it off with a top coat.

My camera for some reason had the hardest time focusing on this color...

I wished that I had taken a picture when I had just one coat on because then you can really see the blue, so I swatched it on a color wheel. You can see it starts out a pretty navy blue, but by coat #2 it is practically black!

Here it is outside, still really dark. Can you see the blue in the bottle?

I'm still wearing this one today because I ran out of acetone (tragic, I know... lol) and I am not about to try to take this off with anything else. This polish bleeds into the cuticles like crazy! So rather than doing a new mani today I'm off to buy some acetone :D

Another thing about Borghese polishes, for those of you that have not tried them before, is that they have a double wide brush. I know a lot of people don't like this, but I actually do like their brushes. My nails are fairly wide and can easily accommodate a wider brush. That is not the case with everyone tough...

Sunday, May 29, 2011

So excited to try the new BM plates that I stamped right over the Aziza polish I had on from yesterday. I have been seeing at this snake pattern on so many other blogs and loving the result. I like how it turned out, even if it doesn't scream "snake" to me. Can't wait to try other color combinations!!! :)

For this stamping I used Zoya Kelly and Bundle Monster plate BM-215...

Only bad thing is, my nails can't be any longer than this or the patterns will be too short :(

Woo Hoo! I finally got my Bundle Monster plates in the mail last night. I was so excited to see all the designs up-close and personal :D

They came with this lovely protective blue covering... blue so that people I would not get too excited and try to use it with the tape still on thinking there is something wrong with the plate... you know, like I did last time...

Here they are all laid out in order. I left this photo original size so you can really zoom in to see the details... go ahead just click on it ;)

Saturday, May 28, 2011

I have had this polish for quite a while and have absolutely no idea where I got it.
The polish is a metallic gray with lavender undertones. Gorgeous color that I have worn many times. Just wish I knew something about the brand, such as where to find it and what the ingredients are... Have you heard of this brand before???

This is two coats plus a top coat. Unlike most other metallic colors I've tried, this one had little to no streaking...

Thursday, May 26, 2011

I needed something quick and simple today so I grabbed the 1st thing that crossed my path :) It happened to be an Essence Colour & Go polish named Just in Case. It is a coppery, metallic brown. As with most metallics, they can get streaky so it needed careful application, but it was pretty easy with their wider brush (at least for me).

It dried quickly as promised on the bottle. I applied two coats of Just in Case and followed it up with a top coat a few minutes later. I usually like waiting a few minutes between applying my last coat of color and the top coat. When the polish has some time to dry on its own, I find it that I get a lot less shrinking with the topcoat.

You can really see the beautiful metallic shimmer outside. I was so happy that the sun decided to come out even for a few minutes! :D

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Joining in the fun of Pink Wednesday, I decided to wear Encore Pink from the Ulta Salon Formula line. It is a creamy pastel pink. A very sweet color. It is actually a bit brighter pink in real life than what shows up on photos in the light box.

I applied three thin coats to get it to be fully opaque and smooth. The photos below are with no top coat.

I accented it using Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Shimmering Lilac and plate M71 then added a top coat. I like the subtle stamping as usual :)

Some quick photos outside (as it was raining). I wanted to show just how pink it is in natural light!

Monday, May 23, 2011

There was so much hype about this polish in 2010, that I just had to try it. That's right, I'm late at jumping on the bandwagon, but that's how I am. I won't just get something to get it, I have to want to try it. So I finally tried Zoya Kelly for the 1st time today. For those of you who have not seen it swatched/talked about before, it is a deep bluish gray. Very sophisticated, gorgeous color. I have to admit it, I love how it looks... maybe I should follow the trend more next time ;)

The formula on this one is amazing. It applied like a dream, no dragging, not streaking. Two coats to get it to be fully opaque and actually darker than the bottle color. These photos are after two coats plus a top coat.

Looking at the light-box photos made me think that it would look amazing matted... need to get a matte top coat stat!!! :)

I did decide to accent it with some stamped flowers using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal. I used plate M71 from the Born Pretty Store. After all, I do need a lot more practice stamping before my Bundle Monster plates arrive. So excited :D

Sunday, May 22, 2011

I wanted something neutral and "tame" today since my bf and I are going to his parents for dinner. Didn't want to frighten them with a crazy color ;)
So out came Zoya Anne, which is a sweet nude with a hint of shimmer. It is fairly sheer, but did build up nicely in 3 coats with only a slightly visible nail line.

If it wasn't for the three coats, it would be my perfect nude (you know, if my skin was shimmery all the time). I have been looking for a nude that I can layer under other sheers. Guess I'll have to keep looking :)

This is three coats + a top coat...

On its own, it turned out to be a little too neutral for me. I decided to try sponging the tips with a glitter. I have been drooling over the amazing sponged manicures that AmyGrace does over at The Polished Perfectionist, so I channeled her for this manicure. Mine didn't turn out as nearly as amazing as hers, but I think I will have to try it with brighter colors again. The technique itself worked well following her tutorial :D

For the glitter I used Wet n Wild Hallucinate. The camera doesn't quite capture all the colors in this glitter, but you can zoom in to see more...

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Happy Saturday everyone... yeah, I know it is almost 5pm around here and too late to be wishing people a happy Saturday, but I have been having a nice and lazy day so it is still happy to me :)
Today I decided to play around with a new polish I got from the Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails line called Plum. It is not a new color, but new to me. I'm calling it my 9 cent manicure. Why 9 cents? I got this polish a few days ago at my local Walgreens. It was on sale for $1.09 and I had a $1 coupon for Sally Hansen polishes... so yes, I got this polish for 9 cents... well technically, this manicure is less than 9 cents because I could still paint my nails quite a few times using this polish ;)

Plum is a very pretty jelly polish. It was opaque after two coats, but I used three to get it even and "squishy" looking. It has a bit of a tendency to drag, so a really light hand is needed to get an even coat with this one.

It was pretty, but seemed to be missing something. I decided to add black tips using a technique I have seen on other blogs using tape and craft scissors. In particular I was channeling Chloe's Nails as she does some of the most amazing things with the tape and has tutorials as well. For the black I used Wet n Wild Black Cream. This was my 1st attempt and I have to say I like how it turned out. I will have to play with tape more now :)

Outside you can really see the where the name Plum comes from. No sunshine pictures today as it is overcast again :(

About Me

I am a self proclaimed craft nerd. I love all things crafty and will try just about any of it. Favorite hobbies include carving candles, decorating cakes, and making jewelry. In my free time, I love to play with nail polish! Questions/comments? Feel free to contact me at angalek@gmail.com